Glory and Gore (Yogscast)
by WannaPlayKevinBacon
Summary: War. The sport of kings. The true test of a man. Ridge makes a new game for Xephos to cheer up his favorite mortal in the only way he knows how. Gods new and old clash in a bloody battle royale between magic and science. To the victor go the spoils. Rated M for violence, gore, cursing, adult situations.
1. Shall We?

A/N: I'm still working on my one-shot series, but this storyline needed chapters, so here it is. Please Review if you feel so inclined, and enjoy!

Full warnings: Gore, violence, cursing, slash, adult content. If anything else comes up I'll add a warning to the individual chapters. Minecraft and these characters belong to their respective creators. I'm doing this for artistic enjoyment, not profit.

* * *

Lalna laughed maniacally as he swung up with his sword, catching Trottimus in the face, knocking him to the ground. He raised the sword up for another blow but an arrow hit his throat, "I did it!" Sips shouted in triumph.

A woosh of air from Lalna spattered blood across Trottimus' corpse as the scientist died, then the gray man was alone. The cannon boom sounded thrice, another death faraway joining theirs. Sips knelt to loot the scientist's corpse, taking arrows and a loaf of bread.

Sjin crept up on his friend, drawing his sword slowly as Sips muttered congratulations to himself. When a pain hit Sjin he looked down to see blood spreading across his middle; Sips fired another arrow, narrowly missing Nilesy as he pulled his sword out of Sjin. Nearby, buildings roared in a blaze set by Alsmiffy's trusty flint and steel while roads crumbled under the devastation of Honeydew's cleverly placed TNT.

Xephos watched it all from the glass platform high above as Ridge reveled in each intoxicating death. The spaceman was far from such giddiness, first to die again. What was it about these games that brought out the worst in Xephos? Perhaps he was being too hard on himself, but with all of his strengths outside of the arena, each defeat was more bitter. Ridge was-to his credit-ignoring Xephos' brooding (pouting) and keeping his eyes on the game. When Sips finally finished off Lomadia with an arrow, Ridge perked up and made his way to the gathering group of resurrected players, laughing, yelling, whining, all glad to be sent home. Xephos did his best to cheer up before Ridge returned, but the fretting just came too easy.

"What a delicious display," Ridge purred.

"Another ingenious suicide by me," Xephos said.

Ridge hovered close, his fingertips leaving sparks along the back of Xephos' hand when he touched it. The muscles of Xephos' arm snapped like rubber bands and he shivered, "Feeling sorry for yourself? Or just upset that you weren't gutted by one of your nearest and dearest?"

"That's not-" Xephos sighed and pressed his fingertips against his temples in frustration, "I'm not feeling sorry for myself."

Ridge mused, his hand creeping up to caress the nape of Xephos' neck, "Of course you aren't."

"That," Xephos muttered, his body humming once again with the demigod's borrowed energy, "Isn't helping."

"Are you sure? Because I feel wonderful," Ridge said, his hands tugging at Xephos' jacket.

The spaceman couldn't deny that he felt the same, slowly taken in by the high they were sharing with each contact of skin, the power surge bled out by Xephos and his friends moments before. It was impossible to fully resist, as Ridge made very sure, but Xephos had a consistently harder time convincing himself he would say no to anything Ridge wanted-or perhaps that he himself wanted, below a deep, blushing denial.

The touches grew steadily more insistent until Xephos forced himself to speak, "It isn't the games it's... the rest of everything. It's Lalna and Rythian, Sips and Sjin, Honeydew and the damn expectancy in their faces when they look at me, like I know everything, or I can at least make the bad things go away."

"No one can do that," Ridge said, but Xephos wasn't even certain the demigod was speaking to him.

He cautiously continued, "I find it oddly backward that a game of recreationalized barbarism is more zen than waking up in the morning... at least when I crack my skull or shoot myself or manage to blow myself up here it's... impermanent."

Ridge had listened with an amused silence that made Xephos feel like a child being humored by an eternally patient elder, but when he spoke, all of that melted away, "Then shall we play a game?"

"I don't think another round will exactly melt away my troubles, and the arena is... well not so much an arena as a yawning pit of lava by now."

"A different kind of game," Ridge said, "A game of kings."

"War?" Xephos said with a bitter smile.

Ridge cupped Xephos' chin in one hand, "Precisely."

Xephos' gaze faltered, "Really? But... how?"

"Gather your generals and your pawns will follow," Ridge said, "The others look to you for guidance. Let us see if you are truly worthy of their loyalty and confidence."

Ridge knew the spaceman far too well, for Xephos' stomach tightened as his competitive resolve surfaced, "I'll play your game," he said, his mouth running far ahead of his brain.

"To the Victor go the spoils," Ridge said, his grip on Xephos' chin tightening as their lips brushed with an agonizing spark.

* * *

When Xephos' stupor subsided, the others were there, each with a look of blank submission on their face. Ridge had yet to wake them. The demigod wasn't far away, and his words startled Xephos with their closeness, "These twelve will do. Six each, one at a time."

Xephos nodded, standing up and doing his best to bring his disheveled clothes back to their original neatness lest he make a spectacle of himself, "I'm ready."

Ridge was still vibrating with energy as he lifted the fog of unawareness from the dozen waiting-what, soldiers?-and they all began to mutter, prepared for another game as recollection of the last was far gone by now, "Choose," he prompted Xephos, "Choose your architect."

"Sjin," Xephos said, barely letting Ridge finish.

The demigod's mouth twitched into one of his intimidating little smiles at the decision. Sjin was Ridge's favorite builder, but a close second was to be had in Djh3max, "Your combat specialist?"

That one was harder, a heavy responsibility of expertise he wasn't sure anyone had, but to choose for thirsting knowledge, wicked cunning, a semi-controlled edge of bloodlust, was easier, "Lalna."

"And your demolitions expert?"

Xephos snorted, his easiest decision so far, "Honeydew," he said, smiling at his oldest friend.

It went on that way, Sips for manufacturing, Nilesy for reconnaissance, Turpster for the general grunt work, and Ridge's side stacked much the same, except for one glaring difference, "Science versus magic," the demigod mused, his golden eyes sparking, "You are still comfortingly predictable, Xephos."

"And you as well," Xephos cautioned, "Or maybe you were just letting me dig my own hole with my choices before making yours."

Ridge grinned, "Either way," he said, giving Xephos no indication of an answer, "Now, there's the matter of fairness."

"Fairness? Between you and I?" Xephos snorted, "It's fine, Ridge. It's a game of strategy after all, not much of a big divine advantage for you there over me."

Suddenly, Ridge spun Xephos around and laid a hand on the nape of his neck, a small trickle of the static energy Xephos knew all too well crackled there and suddenly, Ridge bore down, his fingers tightening like a vice and it absolutely poured into Xephos, white, liquid, searing agony.

Xephos' body reacted violently, blind with pain and trying to arc and twist with the throes of it but Ridge held him still as a scream was torn from deep within the spaceman's trembling body. Tears that felt like boiling water streaked down his face and his hands curled into fists so tight that his nails cut deep grooves into his tortured palms. Xephos' teeth dug into his lip and he felt warm blood flow down his chin as Ridge released him to crumple on the floor, spasming and bleeding and begging for death as he was undone, destroyed and remade.

* * *

"Wake up, Xeph," Ridge whispered in his ear.

Xephos' eyes opened but the scenery he'd seen beneath his eyelids didn't change. There was no black, no white, not even dark or light for Xephos to focus on, just a great, mindbending vastness. He and Ridge were floating in the rawest form of space, occupied not by atoms, matter, nor even sound until Xephos managed a strangled, "What...?"

Suddenly, Sjin appeared before him as Ridge continued, "One week to build, to prepare, and then we shall begin," He said, "He's ready."

Xephos hesitated, his new power still sang through his veins like bullet trains all in different directions, converging at his fingertips as he touched Sjin and the man's eyes slammed open, white and unseeing yet glowing with an awareness of all things, a tiny spark of what Xephos felt.

Sjin raised his left hand and massive wave followed, swirling and pooling into a great sea. Xephos was aware now of the second Architect, floating on the opposite side of the water, "No peeking," Ridge said playfully, and Xephos turned his attention back to Sjin.

The bearded man was pulling spires and skyscrapers and mountains like strings out of the nothingness, dirt and cobble and steel and quartz like the tides flowing to his will's gravity. Xephos let him create like this for what could have moments of days, and then he touched Sjin's arm. The man buckled and bent like a piano wire and then he began to build as his leader willed, SipsCo for weaponry, an outpost for Nilesy's intel, mines and bunkers and great shipyards and docks.

Xephos' let out the unnecessary breath he's been holding as the lab began to form from the ground up. It was white, sterile, humming, alive, massive, all tucked underground save for a small expanse of obsidian roof housing a helipad and a blast door.

Then, the infant demigod left his architect to finish working, his being shifting and shimmering as he appeared on the roof of the Jaffa Factory. Stumbling as he was momentarily caught between floating and walking, Xephos tumbled over the edge of the roof and landed full on his back at the base of the great building.

He opened one eye cautiously, and once he'd ensured his blunder went unseen, he stood and dusted himself off, striding inside.

Honeydew and Lalna were waiting, of course they were, and unlike Ridge, Xephos' brand new powers didn't command any respect, fear or adoration. In short, they wanted answers, "That was a right laugh," Honeydew said, "Watching you faff about on the ground gnawing your own face off."

"You seem better now," Lalna added smugly.

"So're you like him, then?" Honeydew asked, burly arms folded, "Some kind of bleeding god?"

Xephos rubbed his forehead as a brilliant headache gathered just behind his eyes, "I'm not sure what I am, honestly," he said, "But we have a week to prepare, or we had a week. How long has it been?"

"Since that tosser dropped us back here on our arses with no explanation, you mean?"

"Three days," Lalna said. He looked troubled.

Xephos squared his shoulders, "Then we have four to get ready. Honeydew, go and fetch Sips before he gets into the alcohol and goes completely useless. He'll know where Turps is. We need Nilesy-"

"I'll get him," Lalna said, looking through a chest for his flying ring, "We're with you Xeph, to the end of this," he said suddenly.

Xephos looked at his friends, a smile teasing his lips, "Thank you. Lets try to make that longer than just these next four days."


	2. Top to Bottom

A/N: Thanks to everybody who read chapter 1! No new warnings for now. I'm already having a lot more fun with this Xephos-centric fic than I expected, honestly. It's coming fairly easy unless I'm just ballsing it up amazingly!

* * *

Honeydew reached SipsCo quickly, as quickly as short legs could carry a man in a mild huff. It was still churning away, machines working, dogs barking and Sips wasn't in a drunken stupor, no such luck.

"I hope you have a damn good reason to be here," Sips snapped. He was in his SipsCo CEO mindset, arms folded and legs crossed at the ankles on his mahogany desk. He was grouchy and he meant business.

"I would say you're more fun when you're not so narked but we both know I don't care for you either way. Now we've got a game to play so stop puffing up like a mad hen and lets get this over with," Honeydew said.

Sips didn't budge, "Try harder you big bitch," he muttered.

Honeydew rested his axe on the ground and folded his hands, trying to abandon his usual gruffness in favor of diplomacy, 'For Xeph's sake,' he told himself, "Please come to the Jaffa Factory with me," he started, "Before I bury this axe in Sjin's favorite part of you."

They stared one another down and Sips' eyebrow finally twitched, "That's the best I'm gonna get isn't it?"

Honeydew picked his axe up and walked to the exit, "We also gotta get that Turpster bugger on the way."

Sips sighed and stood, walking over to pull a large lever on the wall. With a large mechanical grind, everything halted, "I'm guessing this isn't going to be quick."

Honeydew whistled, "How's that thing work?"

"I don't know," Sips grumbled, "That's what Sjin's for."

"Right," Honeydew cleared his throat, "Lets get a move on then."

The man and the dwarf left the now darkened compound as high above the ground Lalna flew back with Nilesy, the happier man chattering away as Lalna dreaded the questions he was unsure how to answer, "What exactly is going on?"

"Um... a game," Lalna said, his own mortal mind stumbling over exactly what he'd seen before.

"A game or A Game?"

"A... what?" Lalna asked, momentarily baffled.

"So," Nilesy said somberly, "All that stuff with Ridge and Xephos was real then."

Lalna nodded, "Very real, and we're going to be working for Xephos now."

Nilesy looked back in the direction of Owl Island and nodded, "Right, for Xephos. For how long?"

"For as long as it takes I guess," Lalna said, landing as gently as possible with Nilesy's extra weight, "I think we can walk it from here."

Nilesy dusted himself off and wrapped his arms around himself, chilled not by the cold, but by the odd circumstance. He said nothing else, and Lalna was relieved.

* * *

Xephos looked out at the faces of those who would serve with him, some bewildered, some angry, others still tired, and he felt a moment of uncertainty before he pushed it away, "The enemy is magic," he said, "Our objectives are to prevent their invasion and to overtake them. I will do my best to lead us to victory."

They stared, and Xephos wished he had more to say, something comforting or inspiring, but his brain had been in a fog over his newly acquired deity status, and how to use it-or at least avoid misusing it to a dangerous extent. He had already thrown himself off the roof, smashed a coffee cup with his mind, overturned a crafting table and cracked a furnace, all exasperating accidents that left him scrambling to pick up pieces while muttering apologies that must have been getting very tiresome even to the most patient of his friends. For now, Xephos tried to stay focused and keep his emotions safely tucked away lest they kill someone.

"Just... make yourselves comfortable," Honeydew said, stepping in to help, "Xeph'll come to you and discuss your part in this. Try to be bloody patient."

Xephos smiled, stepping away and pulling Lalna with him, "I need you as my second in command."

Lalna brightened, "Me?"

"Sjin is building us a huge lab, Lalna. It's massive, beautiful, anything you could ever possibly want. I want to use it to it's full potential. I have so many ideas."

"I'll make them all happen," Lalna vowed.

"Make sure you get blood from everyone," Xephos said, "Tonight."

Lalna nodded, pausing before he walked away, "Where is Sjin?"

"Nowhere," Xephos said, "At least it's nowhere for now."

"That isn't ominous or weighty at all, Xeph," the scientist said, moving away to dig through chests.

Xephos went to the others then; Sips, Nilesy and Turpster were sat together on a few chests and mumbling amongst themselves. Their voices dropped to silence when Xephos sat across from them. He pulled out a clumsy map he'd been working on-god powers notwithstanding-and spread it out, "Turps, there are mines here closest to the sea. We need to clear them of materials first in case our beaches are taken. Sjin is working on a transport system to get the materials to the factories here. Sips, I want you making tanks and small impact missiles but mostly I want you to start working on the battleships. We need at least a fleet of fifty to start. You'll both have a staff at your disposal, but the real work, the management, that's entirely up to you two."

"Up to us as long as it's exactly what you tell us," Sips said.

"Something like that," Xephos said, "If we don't remain unified we'll lose before we even start making headway."

Sips looked like he wanted to say more, but he didn't. Turpster seemed enthusiastic, "You can count on me," he said with an odd little salute.

Xephos left them with the map, standing and waving Nilesy over to him, "I want to speak with you a bit more privately."

Nilesy looked a bit nervous, or maybe frightened, maybe both, but he was quiet, "Alright, Xeph," he said, "What about?"

Xephos guided him away to where Lalna stood, "About your job, your very important responsibility."

Nilesy eyed Lalna as the scientist moved around him, rolling up his sleeve, "I am a spy, right? That's what you said when I had the dream. Or... it was real, right."

"That's right, reconnaissance," Xephos said, "Your outpost is on the corner of our island, up by the mine I showed Turps. It's where your provisions will be. You'll be alone most of the time, but it's your job to keep an eye on things. I want to know about Ridge's forces, their movements, the state of their cities. I want everything you can get, any way you can get it."

Nilesy hissed when the needle bit into his arm, blood filling the syringe as Lalna pulled the plunger back, his eyes intensely focused on his task behind the dark goggles, "Ok. I can do that I guess."

Lalna lifted his goggles, nodded to Xephos and then Nilesy's blood was taken away for cold storage. Xephos knew all too well what usefulness it would pose once they were settled in the laboratory.

"Report to the lab first," Xephos said, "As soon as this starts."

Nilesy nodded and watched Xephos move away, going to speak with Lalna in hushed voices. Shivering, the man returned to Sips and Turpster for another look at the map.

* * *

Lalna drew blood from everyone that night, every mortal in the building anyway, but Xephos proved a challenge. Whatever Xephos was, seemed fairly puncture resistant, or he was simply ignorantly preventing such an incursion without knowing it. Lalna's determination was no match for the odd physics of Xephos altered body. The first attempt bent the needle, "Not sharp enough," Lalna muttered, trying another.

After a decent bout of effort, Lalna raised the syringe to see that the needle's end had been flattened, "Sorry," Xephos mused.

Lalna put his goggles up on his forehead, "I can work with this. It just might take a while."

"You have time," Xephos said.

"Not much, unfortunately," Lalna said, "But I have a few days."

"And all of the blood will keep until then?"

"Absolutely," Lalna said, "It's already sorted, and Nilesy's... well, implant-"

"Make sure that stays between us," Xephos said, "All of it."

"Of course," Lalna said, allowing himself a small smile.

Xephos reached out and touched his friend's arm, between his glove and the edge of his rolled up sleeve. Lalna let out a tiny gasp and closed his eyes. The spaceman was surprised at first when a feeling of attraction, like the tug of a magnet, flowed through his hand, and he placed his full palm on the bare skin there, the feeling drawing all the way up his spine. Lalna's eyes were closed as if concentrating, but Xephos saw the shivering pleasure he tried to conceal, and then suddenly, realizing what he was doing, he pulled his hand away, "Right, sorry. I wasn't expecting-"

"F-fine, it's fine," Lalna muttered, "I'll go up and get to work."

Xephos watched him go, standing to follow when suddenly a bolt of awareness shredded through his thoughts. Dying. "Shit," he cursed, reaching out with his mind.

He appeared next to Sjin, hanging in the nothingness that was now so very occupied by land, sea, sky, even birds and fish. He wrapped his arms around Sjin and concentrated on pulling him away.

When they reached the mortal world, Xephos was surprised how limp Sjin was, his entire body hanging like a mass of fabric. He wasn't heavy, Xephos felt no real weight now, but it was a dance to gather the man into his arms in a way that might less alarm the others, "Lalna!" he shouted.

Lalna raced down a floor to meet him while everyone else came up, "What's the matter?" Honeydew asked sleepily.

"It's Sjin," Nilesy muttered and Sips shoved past him.

"What did you do to him!"

Lalna quickly pushed a large chest over beneath where Xephos stood and he gently lay his architect out on it. The man was motionless like a dead thing, radiating silence and stillness, "Lalna, Is he dead?" Honeydew asked softly.

Lalna was silent as he jabbed a needle into the crook of his arm, "Lalna?" Xephos prompted, trying to get an answer.

"I need live blood," Lalna panted, "It has to be collected before he d-"

"You son of a bitch!"

When Lalna turned to face the shout, Sips punched him across the face; Lalna cried out in surprise and stumbled back. Xephos saw red as Sips took a step forward to renew his assault. Xephos extended his hand and Sips flew backward, his back slamming against the far wall. Xephos stalked over and their anger was matched, glaring into eachother's eyes, "Fuck... You..." Sips panted.

Xephos reached and grabbed the man by the throat, but now his touch wasn't exhilarating, or pleasurable, but pain and madness, and Sips struggled under it with amusing weakness, "Xeph!"

Xephos looked to where Lalna-holding his bleeding nose in one hand-was checking Sjin for a pulse. The demigod tossed Sips to the floor and hurried over, "Anything?"

"He isn't breathing, but his heart's beating. It won't for long if we don't hurry," Lalna said, starting a particularly bloody CPR, "Somebody get me a fucking towel!"

It was Honeydew who reached them first with a square of cloth that been white once before it had been used to mop up oil from machines for the months since it had been cut from a larger stained towel. With the firm insistence only a dwarf could understand, he pressed it to Lalna's nose, freeing up his hands.

Nilesy and Turps attempted to help Sips to his feet but shrugged them off, standing and moving where he could see what was going on, "I need the purple vial from there!" Lalna called to him, "And a syringe; be quick about it!"

Sips went into action quickly, following the orders of the man he'd attacked moments before, setting it aside in hopes of saving Sjin. Lalna got the medicine into Sjin and the man took a loud, wheezing breath. The others let out a joint sigh of relief, but Xephos wasn't finished with Sips. He stepped around the bed and the gray man didn't back down, still too angry to be smart, "If you ever touch him again," Xephos growled, his blue eyes swimming with anger and his new, overwhelming power, "You will regret it."

Sips kept his gaze, but said nothing, and when Xephos released him from his stare, Sips went to Sjin's side. Lalna had already retreated to the corner to nurse his broken nose, the others having shuffled away to avoid more dramatics.

Xephos joined his scientist, leaning in behind him, "Are you alright?"

"Fine," Lalna slurred as he gingerly wiped the blood from his face, "Can't speak for my nose though."

Xephos smiled and moved Lalna's hand away, touching his nose. There was a quiet snapping as bone and cartilage shifted back into place, "Better?"

Lalna sniffed experimentally then smiled, "Good as new... Did you know you could do that?"

"Nope."

Lalna smiled, "What happened to Sjin?"

"My own stupidity, more than likely," Xephos said, "I left him building with borrowed powers. I didn't even think about him until I felt him dying." He thought grudgingly that Ridge could have had decency enough to warn him, "You should see what he's done."

"I will, and he'll be back on his feet by then," Lalna said, "And this isn't your fault."

Lalna reached out and then hesitated as if afraid to touch his friend. Xephos took Lalna's hand, intertwining their fingers and reopening the channel between them. It was all, in fact, Xephos' fault; without his little tantrum before, this entire game wouldn't be in place. Xephos wouldn't be some half deity and Sjin certainly wouldn't have pulled himself apart building more and more until his body gave in. He couldn't bring himself to say any of it, though, not to Lalna, "Make sure he pulls through, but don't forget to get some rest."

* * *

Xephos had no need for sleep, and it was a puzzling predicament as he sat in the dark of the factory's basement alone, listening to the machines whir and the cogs in his own mind spinning away like a creaking waterwheel. The footsteps behind him brought him back to the present, and he recognized them instantly, "Can't sleep?"

"Some big git had a temper tantrum earlier," Honeydew said as he sat down next to his friend, "Got me to worrying."

Xephos pulls his knees to his chest, resting his chin on his arms, "I'm sorry about that. I lost my temper."

"Sips is a prat, on the best of days," Honeydew said.

Xephos smiled, "I'm sorry I've been ignoring you... maybe avoiding you is the better word. I just haven't felt like myself."

"I understand that," Honeydew said, "Brand new pair o' shiny god bollocks and all, can't hardly be draggin them in the dirt with us little people."

Xephos snickered, startling himself as a great deal of the weight left him, "It's only temporary, but it's going to take some getting used to."

"I told you it wasn't safe talkin to Ridge so much," Honeydew said, "Now look at you."

Xephos snorted then and covered his face with his hands, "I suppose you're right. Wouldn't life be simpler if I'd just listen to you?"

Honeydew slapped him on the back, "Hindsight's twenty twenty, Xeph," he said, "Talking serious now, I want to help you win this thing and get you back to normal. Then we are going to have a serious talk about Jaffa production levels around here. It's dreadful!"

Another laugh, loud and unhindered came from Xephos and his heart felt warm and light and the beating didn't seem so slow and heavy, "No need for the poking stick," he mused, "As soon as this is over we will be swimming in Jaffas."

"You are aware I cannot swim worth a shite, aren't you?"


	3. Blood Is Our Business

A/N: Get ready for a Sjips and Xephna chapter! I struggled a bit with this one so rather than put up a chapter I wasn't happy with it, I kept it until I was-or at least to the point where I'm beating a dead horse revising it. Sorry for the wait! Happy 4th to my readers who celebrate it!

Warnings: Cursing, adult content, splosions

* * *

It was a quiet few days after the incident at the factory. Sjin woke up, good as new with no memory of his building. Sips kept his hands to himself and Lalna stayed busy with preparations for the lab. Honeydew managed to convince Nilesy and Turpster to work on odd factory jobs which-inevitably-ended badly more often than not. Xephos spent many hours away from the rest, honing his power, exploring his temporary abilities and compiling strategies.

He shared them, a little at a time, with those involved, though Sips knew nothing of the lab, Turps knew nothing of the factories and Sjin and Nilesy were kept largely in the dark outside of the buildings' locations. Lalna and Honeydew, however, knew everything.

"There's still some of the lab we need to map out," Lalna said, huddled over the sheet of paper they'd smoothed out on a chest in the corner.

"I'm working on it," Xephos said, the tiniest edge of annoyance in his voice, "Its not like I'm pulling most of it from a bloody dream-memory or anything."

Lalna grinned, and Xephos' mind eased, "I think we should put the containment rooms here, toward the back. There are four paths of escape in case of... well, it's the safest place. The barracks can go here, for the clones we want to work in the lab. The soldiers can stay in the hangar here until they're deployed. Ventilation could run through here so it's coming out away from the helipad. Flammables and all that, you know. Safety first."

Xephos finished drawing another section of the building before sighing and putting the pencil down, "There, that's the last of it."

Lalna wasted no time grabbing the map and making his own sketches and plans, "It's going to be amazing, Xeph. Ridge won't know what hit him."

"And you've got the blood tucked away?"

Lalna nodded, "The vials will be on me when we start, as long as Ridge doesn't take everything beforehand."

"It wasn't in the rules," Xephos said, "Not that Ridge always sticks to his own rules."

"Even if, I can get it back. It'll just slow us down," Lalna said.

"That might be enough to kill us," Xephos said,

"The fact we're up against a bloody god might be enough to kill us," Honeydew muttered from his spot a few feet away, reminding them of his presence.

Lalna's expression was still cheery, "Don't be such a babby," he said, "This is going to be fun."

"Don't remember much about Ridge's games," Honeydew mumbled, "But I'm sure I don't remember any fun."

"Lets just get some rest," Xephos said, eager to end the conversation, "It might be very early when Ridge comes calling."

Honeydew grumbled his way out of the room, but Lalna held back, "Have you been practicing?" he asked pointedly.

"I have," Xephos said, "We could try again."

Lalna's face betrayed his enthusiasm as he hurried off, returning with a few syringes, "I've been working out some ways to use your DNA to alter the clones or maybe to control them, a hive mind sort of thing. I think I can sort it fairly quickly once I've got a sample."

"Impressive," Xephos said with a genuine smile, shrugging off his coat to expose his arms, "Whenever you're ready."

Lalna approaches, concentration and suspense in his eyes as he slid the needle home with the softest sound and it passed through Xephos' skin. Avoiding a premature celebration, he drew the blood and pulled the needle away before repeating the process twice more, "It actually worked." He looked at the blood in the syringes as if expecting it to look different.

"It did indeed," Xephos said, looking down as his arm healed, smiling to himself.

Xephos' smile faded to something else as he watched Lalna carefully remove his right glove and brush his fingertips over the inside of Xephos' arm. Smiling, the spaceman focused on the connection, feeling the sparks of power as they flowed up and into Lalna's hand. The scientist grinned, his hand sliding up to grip Xephos' bicep. Xephos reached up and pulled him down by his white coat; their eyes met and Xephos could practically feel the frantic beating of Lalna's heart.

Xephos pressed his lips to Lalna's and the electricity between them intensified, dragging a moan out of the blond man as Xephos drew his burning tongue across Lalna's bottom lip. He pulled away then, staring into Lalna's eyes, half-lidded with shameless lust and sparkling with his always-fierce curiosity. Xephos smiled, "It's a bit crowded in here."

Lalna was suddenly aware of the soft snoring of their companions scattered throughout the factory, "What about the roof?"

Xephos snorted, "You need sleep," he said gently.

"I never sleep," Lalna said, but Xephos cupped his chin and kissed him softly in a way that signaled the end of the matter.

* * *

It was terribly early when Ridge came calling, his voice booming through the factory, "Ladies and gentlemen!"

Xephos' team exited the factory in various states of sleep. Ridge's players were lined up outside, "We're here," Honeydew muttered, "Let's get on with it."

Ridge flashed his usual charming grin, "I suppose small talk is unnecessary, then. I'll just reiterate the rules. The first side to lose all of it's players loses. Do whatever you can to kill, and do whatever you can to survive."

Nilesy smiled at Lomadia, lifting his hand in a wave. She returned his smile but kept still, ignoring the looks she got from Alsmiffy and Djh3max. Rythian glowered at Lalna, unable to hide his disdain. Xephos stood beside his companions, unlike Rigde, and the difference made the spaceman stand a little straighter with a sense of pride at his own immersion, "We're ready," he said, feeling Lalna's gloved hand slip into his own.

"Very well," Ridge said, "Let the game commence."

Xephos felt a rush of air, forceful enough for him to close his eyes. When he opened them, he smiled, "We're here."

"It's amazing!" Lalna cried, looking around the gigantic lab with nothing short of childish glee. Quickly reaching into his pocket, his grin widened, "It's all here!"

Xephos followed Lalna as the scientist took off at a brisk walk, "Better get things ready for Nilesy," he said.

"Oh right," Lalna muttered, "I'd better hurry."

"After that's finished, we need to figure out a way to keep Sjin from wasting away when he's building. That should be an easy task."

Lalna nodded to himself, his mind already working outside of the conversation, "I'll get it done."

"I need to get to the factory and check on Sips," Xephos said, "You'll be alright alone?"

"The location of the lab is fairly hidden and besides," Lalna said, jerking his thumb at the eager testificates that bustled in the hallway, "I have my assistants."

Xephos smiled and turned down a corridor while Lalna continued straight, heading off to the helipad.

Halfway through the massive building, Xephos ran into a familiar face, wandering the halls and chatting up the help, "Sjin?"

"Oh hello Xephos," he greeted, "So this is the lab. It does feel familiar, standing here."

"It's lovely. I was just heading to Sips' factory."

Sjin smiled, "I'd like to join you then. I think I want to try flying the helicopter out there."

"Well you did build it," Xephos chuckled.

* * *

Lalna buzzed around the lab, taking samples, making notes and tinkering with the machines, "So I'm all done?" Nilesy asked, rubbing the back of his neck where a bump had formed.

"Oh, yes. You're free to go," Lalna dismissed, "Just don't touch the injection site anymore than you have to."

Nilesy dropped his hand instantly, "Right, well I have my orders."

"Yep."

"Guess I'll be off then."

When Nilesy received no response, he slid off of the chair and left the lab, shuddering at the little chuckle that he heard from Lalna just as the heavy door closed behind him.

"Hello Nilesy."

Nilesy jumped when Xephos appears in front of him, "Xeph you scared me," he said with a little nervous laugh.

"A little on edge?" Xephos asked pleasantly.

"Uh no, well Lalna was poking and prodding. Vaccines, he said."

Xephos smiled, "That's right."

Nilesy looked around for a moment, squirming under Xephos' gaze, "Well I'm off then."

Xephos grabbed Nilesy by the arm, "Remember Nilesy, get that information anyway you have to."

"Right."

Xephos watched the man leave until he disappeared down a connecting hallway, then he spun around on his heels and made his way to Lalna, "I'm not surprised to find you hard at work," he mused.

Lalna looked up and grinned, "Nilesy is all set. I threw together an implant that responds to outside stimuli, like codes or passwords. It should make it easy to recondition him if that becomes necessary. Where's Sjin?"

"He's flying the helicopter around," Xephos chuckled, "He seems to be enjoying himself; I told him to come in before long. Have you figured out what to do with him?"

Lalna smirked, "Who do you think you're talking to? It's been six hours since you left. Of course I have. I've also got the testificates working on some weaponry technology to send to Sips, some simple missiles and guns to start."

"Impressive," Xephos said, "I find myself saying that to you more and more, Lalna."

Lalna grinned again, "Good," he said, "I like impressed Xephos. He's a friendly fellow."

"You say that like I'm not always friendly."

"You?" Lalna teased, "I wouldn't dream of suggesting that."

Xephos folded his arms in mock annoyance, catching Lalna when he zipped by and kissing him, smiling when the scientist's chuckles melted into little sounds of pleasure.

"I'm here?"

Xephos let his eyes flicker to the door where Sjin stood unsurely, trying to look everywhere but at them. After a small hesitation, Xephos let Lalna go, taking a step back. Lalna took a deep breath to regain his composure then opened his eyes and turned around, "I wanted to talk to you about the building," he said, "About what happens when you build, I mean. I think I've pinpointed how to slow the degradation. It might even speed up the process itself."

"Great," Sjin said, glad for the change in subject, "Should we try it out?"

"Absolutely," Lalna said, walking him out. The scientist glanced over his shoulder and met Xephos' gaze, giving him a wicked little smile.

* * *

Three weeks passed in the lab, Lalna working away with Xephos over his shoulder and Sjin building, flying the helicopter and wishing for more. He slept often, between building sessions he felt both exhausted and as if he'd just woken up from a night's sleep, bracing Turpster's mines, carving out additional rooms in the lab and reinforcing foundations that he never remembered. When the morning came without orders to report, muttered in some tired clone's version of Lalna's voice, Sjin wasted no time taking his leave, pointing the helicopter toward SipsCo.

Sips was wearing a suit, dark blue jacket with a silver tie and a white dress shirt. It made Sjin blush as he approached the large desk, "Living the dream, Sipsy?"

"It's gotta be said, I've had worse," Sips replied, "How about you?"

Sjin shrugged, "I'm a helicopter chauffeur. Sometimes I lay on a gurney with a needle in my arm and Xeph touches me then I wake up a day or two later getting praised for my good work. I've never had a better job."

Sips shook his head, "Well Sjin you fucking slacked off here. I can only fit about four bitches in my executive bathtub."

"What, the Lalna clones?" Sjin mused.

Sips made a face, "I hate those things, but I like to leave stuff on the floor in front of the door so when they come running in they fall on their asses."

"I bet they love working for you."

Sjin sat on the corner of Sips' desk and Sips nudged him off with a foot, "Use a damn chair you bastard."

Sjin chuckled but did as he was told, sitting in the single chair across from Sips' desk, "This desk is mahogany, you know."

"Don't you fucking start," Sips said with a smile, "What a fuckin guy."

"I don't have any jobs, if you'd like for me to hang around for a while," Sjin said, his voice hinting but falling on deaf ears.

"You wanna help with this shit? The clones do most of the work. I just approve blueprints and yell at them. Come to think of it, the yelling is my number one perk," Sips said.

Sjin waggled his eyebrows, "I could be your number one perk."

The corner of Sips' mouth twitched, "Are you coming onto me, Sjin?"

Sjin rolled his eyes, "It's not like it's the first time we've done this sort of thing," he said.

"Well usually I'm drunk, or at least pretending to be."

"We're not going to remember any of this when it's over," Sjin said, leaning forward across the large desk, "So you can retain your dignity while at the same time not being such a difficult ass."

Sips blinked, and when Sjin pulled him up by his tie, he smirked, their eyes locked in a predatory stare, "Your move you son of a bitch," he growled.

Sjin took the bait, holding Sips in place and kissing him hard, biting the gray man's lip and receiving a chuckle from the other man. Moving closer, Sjin crawled onto the desk and released Sips' tie to unbutton the man's shirt, "Should I wear your tie around my head?"

"Wear it wherever you want," Sips said, pulling his jacket off and loosening his tie, "Just try to keep your bare ass off of the intercom."

* * *

The lab was bustling, full of testificates and clones, all working in near unison on their various tasks. Three figures stood out in the sea of pawns. Xephos towered over his people, "What do the numbers look like?"

"The factory still isn't running at the capacity we wanted it to be by now," Lalna said, "I sent a dozen more clones there this morning. The missiles are finished but we need extra brainpower out there to get the aiming and firing mechanisms worked out. Sips is business smart but he's no engineer. The mines are going perfectly. Turps brought in another huge shipment of iron and steel. Nilesy sent a message that he's seen Ridge's forces along the shores in increasing numbers."

"He thinks they're planning a naval attack," Xephos said.

"Exactly. The missiles can take out ships even if they've got Rythian casting barrier spells but we need more time, at least three days to get ready."

"I can set the shore with explosives in case they make it across the water," Honeydew interjected, "Or lure them into the mines we've already stripped and bring the tunnels down on top of them."

"That's good thinking," Xephos said, "Right you get on that. Lalna I want thirty percent of our clones here diverted to the factory. We can't let them get boats in the water before we're ready to defend against them."

"Of course, Xephos," Lalna said, breaking off down the hallway that led to the clone lab.

Xephos waved a short farewell to Honeydew before following Lalna, "How is the work on the controller chip coming?"

"Slow," Lalna admitted, "I can get it up and running theoretically but it's going to require fuel."

"Fuel?"

"Your blood," Lalna continued, "And a lot of it. I haven't been able to run it below a rate of six milliliters a day. I also can't replicate the characteristics of your blood that power the chip."

"So it's going to take a daily injection of my blood to keep it working," Xephos said.

Lalna stopped inside the clone lab and sighed, leaning against the long white counter, "I'm still working on it, but if we want these clones working together efficiently, it needs to happen soon. If I wear the chip, it should be easy to inject the blood everyday. I'll just collect enough to keep a surplus for when you're away and put a port on the implant to make it simpler."

Xephos nodded, eyeing one of the failed clones in its glass cage, "Have you tested side effects?"

"I'm doing that now," Lalna said, "Starting on a throwaway clone, but I'll have to test on myself at some point. This one might have dozens of unknown variants that would change his reaction from mine. It's just hyped him up so far, I think. He's been jumping the glass a lot more often but I don't know if he's more energized or actually more agitated. It also seems to fade after a few hours, like the blood disperses. No immune responses that I've been able to detect."

Xephos nodded, "Well, I'm here. Maybe it's a good time to test it."

Lalna smiled, "You know me, up for anything," he said, opening the small cold storage on the counter and pulling out a vial marked 'X'.

"Maybe you should sit," Xephos directed.

Lalna put the vial down and sat in the chair where he'd strapped Nilesy just a few short weeks before. He removed his coat and rolled up his sleeves before strapping his legs in, "A hand with my arms?" he asked with a smile, "I'd inject it directly into a vein. We'll get the fastest onset of reaction that way."

Xephos finished immobilizing Lalna and then drew the blood into the syringe, measuring the six milliliter dose. He prepared the site with a disinfectant and paused to pull Lalna's goggles up to his forehead. Lalna's eyes met his and he grinned, his enthusiasm apparent despite the possible risks, "Here goes nothing," Xephos said.

"Here goes everything," Lalna corrected, closing his eyes when the needle pierced his skin and waiting for the outcome.

Xephos sat up on the counter and watched Lalna, studying his face for the slightest twitch, his hands for the smallest tremor. Suddenly the scientist's head lolled back and his back lifted up off of the chair.

"Lalna? Are you alright?"

The blond hair on Lalna's arms was standing on end and his pale skin was covered in goosebumps. When he opened his eyes, they were glittering with energy, "I'm wonderful," he said in a voice so husky it sent a chill of Xephos' spine, "Is this how it feels to be you?"

"It seems you're having much more fun than I have been," Xephos chuckled, standing and removing the straps from Lalna's arms.

Lalna practically tore off his gloves, tossing them aside before taking Xephos' face in both hands and kissing him hungrily, interrupting the man's attempt to unfasten his leg restraints. Xephos fumbled with the buckles, moaning at the mixed sensation of his own power-watered down though it was-flowing out from Lalna's body.

Once he was free, Lalna stood up from the chair and struggled out of his shirt, watching Xephos do the same. He hopped up onto the counter, laying back when Xephos joined him and hissing at the feeling of the cold tile against his bare skin.

Xephos stopped and drug his fingertips from Lalna's lips slowly downward, the other man's body arching up into his touch like a lazy cat. It went on this way, moments stretching out as Xephos drove shared sensation into Lalna deeper and deeper until they were both panting, "Just fuck me already, would you?" Lalna laughed, and Xephos stifled any further chiding with a volley of kisses.

* * *

The time they had to prepare had not been underestimated, as it only took Ridge three days more to get ships into the water, and much of his team involved in the attack. Rythian himself captained the flag ship, surrounding the small fleet with force fields to keep arrows at bay and allow for a safe docking.

It didn't take long for Xephos and Lalna to meet them near the shore, Xephos trying out his shaky levitating skills to join Ridge in the sky, safely distracted while Lomadia's owl carried her further inland to fulfill her very specific orders. Nilesy's tower was easily spotted, and she landed outside, "Lomadia? You're not here to kill me already are you?" Nilesy called to her from the doorway, "We've only just gotten started."

Lomadia smiled gently, "I'm here to talk," she said, "Seems like Xephos has an awful lot of clones around."

"Right, that's mostly what does all the work, clones of Lalna. I think they've got clones of everybody at the..." Nilesy smiled, "Well I shouldn't say."

"You could always defect," Lomadia said, "You love magic. The rules don't say you can't switch sides."

Nilesy rubbed the bump on the back of his neck, "They'd kill me and besides, I've already been up to my spy duties, sending my little reports."

"So be a double agent. Trottimus can meet you here and once you've given us enough information about Xephos' little schemes, I'll come and get you and we can fly across the sea together. It isn't like Xephos will kill you. He needs you alive."

"I suppose so," Nilesy said, "I do miss magic, and the vaccinations they gave me make me itch. It's been three weeks and I've still got a hell of a bump back here. Anyways, I guess I'll start gathering what I can for the walrus."

Lomadia smiled and took his hands, "I'll send him once a week. He'll feed you false information to relay to Xephos so nobody gets suspicious. If they catch you, just deny everything. They can't make you talk if you don't want them to."

Nilesy shivered as he feared she was wrong about the last part, "I'll keep that in mind. You'd better get out of here, now. I'm not sure how much privacy I actually have out here."

"See you soon," she said, climbing onto her owl and taking off, careful to stay above Ridge and Xephos far enough to avoid detection.

The demigod was doing his best to distract his former mortal lover, and doing well at his little game, "Well well, Xephos I thought you'd be further along by now. No counter measures other than that scientist of yours on a jet pack watching the whole affair? Are you even going to make this a challenge?"

"Don't worry about me," Xephos said, "I know what I'm doing."

"My little Xephos," Ridge teased, "Now your power matches your enthusiasm. Keep an eye on your little pawns. They can get so jealous."

"It's different," Xephos said, "I'm one of them, not floating above their every move like a curious child. I'm not you."

"Oh? And how long did it take you to pick a pet?" Ridge mused, moving so his lips were pressed against Xephos' ear, "Isn't it intoxicating? How they suck power from every pore? How they gasp and arch and cry out with every ounce you let them take? The way it feels to hold their entire body under your every command with just the brush of your fingertips, a thousand orgasms from a single touch if that's how you want it?"

Xephos' cheeks burned as the demigod chuckled, "Is that what I am to you?"

"Be careful," Ridge said, his hand on the back of Xephos' neck pulling him closer, still so much more powerful, "It is addicting."

Xephos was alone then, fuming, humiliated and aroused all at once, his mortal tendencies still far stronger than the god's powers inside of him. He dropped to the ground, "Where's the com headset?"

Lalna handed it over, biting his tongue when he saw the look he got from Xephos and shrugging on his jet pack.

At SipsCo, Sips' earpiece crackled and he made a face, causing Sjin to pause, "Something I said?"

"Just some static," Sips said, "Although yeah some of that shit was pretty obscene, Sjin."

Sjin chuckled, perched in Sips' lap, "Are you sure I should be distracting you?"

Sips waved a dismissing hand, "Xephos is gonna bark in my ear, I'm gonna push this launch button and the day's gonna be saved. Just try not to scream too loud."

"I don't scream," Sjin said.

"I'm still half deaf from this morning!" Sips argued, "It's gotta be said, Sjin, you're loud as hell."

Sjin's cheeks flushed and he kissed Sips, the silence stretching out between them until Sjin heard only the pounding of blood in his own ears.

"Now, Sips!" Xephos' voice snapped over the com, and when nothing happened at first, the shout was louder, "NOW!"

Sips pounded his fist on the large red button after fumbling the cover open, his lips never leaving Sjin's. The ground shook as the missiles launched, "I like a man with power," Sjin mumbled against Sips' mouth.

"I know you big dumb dumb. Why do you think I went out and got so much?" Sips said, "Now hurry up and get your fill before the boss gets here."

"You are the boss," Sjin said, grinning.

"Yeah? Say it again."

"You're the boss, Sips," Sjin purred, crying out in surprise when Sips tossed him up onto the large desk, moving over him.

* * *

The missiles were right on target, smashing through the weaker force fields and through the wooden boats. After the volley, only Rythian remained, having focused all of his power on protecting the ship he had been charged with. Despite his best efforts, the field died away around him, his mana drained substantially. Xephos saw the field blink out, "Get in there," he snarled, and Lalna took off, landing with a thud on the boat's deck, "Hello Rythian."

Chills chased up and down the mage's spine as he turned and looked into the face of his every tortured dream, that sneering grin that frayed the edges of his sanity, "Lalna," he growled.

Lalna chuckled, "I'm sure you missed me."

The testificates manning the boat charged toward the scientist but Rythian lifted a hand to stop them, "He's mine."

"No need to get sentimental, Rythian," Lalna taunted, "It's only a game."

Rythian's hands curled into fists and his eyes blazed purple against the darkness of the choppy sea. The scientist always knew what to say, plucked every string like a mastered instrument. Rythian always fell for it, pressing the little pawn of his sanity into Lalna's hand to use as he wished. The game was no different, except for one small detail, "No one will care if you die here," Rythian snapped, "It's just a game, afterall."

Lalna laughed again, harder. His eyes sparkled and another tiny piece of Rythian went mad. The endermage dove forward, tackling Lalna to the deck. Lalna's head hit the wood of the ship with a satisfying crack and Rythian delighted in the blood he saw on the boards.

Lalna was, alarmingly, stronger than the Mage remembered, and he grabbed Rythian by the wrists, flipping them in a motion surprisingly fluid and pinning the Mage down.

Rythian struggled like a madman but Lalna had him, even he knew that. The scientist straddled him, holding him with one hand as the other reached into his pocket. Before Rythian could jerk away, the needle found its target, plunging in deep.

Lalna drew the syringe full of blood and then jumped off of the mage, "This has been so very fun," he said, wiggling his fingers in a juvenile wave before taking off the same way as he'd come, leaving Rythian holding the small pinprick on his neck not because of pain, but the familiar violation of being harvested for one of Lalna's experiments.

With no warning save for a loud whistling, another missile cut through the air. This time it was headed for the only intact ship. Rythian struggled to raise the field again, but it was too late, and he sprinted down the length of the boat's deck, diving into the water and swimming as hard as he could down and away from the explosion. The shockwave still battered him and he could feel the sting of burns or shrapnel at his back, but he was alive when he surfaced in the choppy sea amidst destroyed boards and mangled bodies.

The mage could see Xephos once again floating above the battle, Lalna joining him and Rythian watched the curiously physical exchange with his mouth twisted in disgust beneath his mask.

* * *

Xephos slammed open the door to Sips' office, his boots thudding heavily on the floor. The air around him crackled with his displeasure. Sips sat at his desk looking unaffected though the charge from his leader sizzled through him as well, "How'd it go?" he asked, meeting Xephos' eyes.

Xephos grit his teeth, slamming his hands on Sips' desk. The wood creaked and groaned but held, "What the bloody hell was that!" Xephos shouted, no longer concerned with composure, "You follow orders when they're given, by me or by Lalna, not when you bloody feel like it! And you keep your mouth shut otherwise!"

Sips kept his mouth shut, as told, his expression unchanging although he bit down on the inside of his cheek.

"Do I make myself clear?" Xephos asked, practically bristling.

There was a very brief pause, and Sips nodded slowly, eyes still locked on his leader.

Xephos seemed to cool a bit and he straightened, smoothing the lapels of his jacket, "Where is Sjin?"

Sips bit down harder but then he took a breath to speak, "Uh I haven't really talked to him lately. Lalna's probably got a Sjin or two back at the lab."

The mere mention of Lalna's name put Xephos on edge, but Sips' face was even paler than usual and the way he gripped his desk with a shaking hand satisfied Xephos that he was properly scared, "You have your orders." He said coolly, turning and striding out of the room, the door slamming shut behind him a moment later as though he were followed by a gust of wind.

Sips' eyes closed and he slouched in his chair, "You could have at least stopped until he was out of the room," he said, rolling his office chair back from his desk.

Sjin laughed and climbed out from under the desk, "Do you think he knew you were lying?"

"I think he would have eaten me if he did," Sips said.

"What are we going to do?" Sjin asked.

Sips zipped his pants and linked his hands behind his head, "Not a damn thing. He might have those testificates and clones out there dying for him but we're the pawns in this, Sjinny-boy and that's it. What do we do when Ridge decides it's time for his games that nobody remembers? Whatever he says, that's what. So I'm gonna keep my goddamn head down and try to keep it from getting blown all over this nice carpet until this stupid game is over. Then when Xeph is back to normal I'm gonna waltz into that fucking Jaffa Factory and give him the old one two. If we remember any of this, one damn thing, I'm gonna make sure that's what I remember."

Sjin smiled although it was forced, "I'd better get back to the lab. There's probably repairs to be made." He stood up and walked toward the door.

"Try not to blab about how your tongue almost lost us the whole war," Sips called after him.

"I'm pretty sure that was your tongue!" Sjin answered back as he left the room.


	4. The Trouble With Mortals

A/N: Sorry for my brief (not so brief) hiatus. I am working on three simultaneous series (Awkward, Dark & Magnificent and this one) all at once so I'm writing a ton but not getting chapters out as quickly when I had one thing to crank out. Awkward's next piece should be up in the next day or so as well. Thanks to all of you who read my weird Yogscast stuff!

* * *

The boats across the sea were Ridge's idea of an appetizer it seemed, as wave after wave of testificates began to hammer their every base and outpost and the clones weren't organized enough to take them on fully. Lalna spent every second-when he wasn't writhing beneath Xephos-slaving to complete the implant, the hub, the hive mind for all of their clones. Xephos stayed out of his way as much as possible, setting Sjin building tasks and overseeing Sips' ship production. Things were coming together, but Ridge's inexplicable knowledge of their every base was disconcerting, troubling, very damned annoying.

Each time a building rose, the mages were there to knock it down. Time was running shorter and shorter and Xephos' patience thinned with it. He was standing in the room where Sjin lay, fuming and brooding and chewing over the situation so intently he didn't realize he had an audience, "Was it something I said?" Xephos looked over his shoulder and saw Sjin smiling tiredly.

He stepped over and removed the electrodes and needles from his architect, "It's fine. There's something going on. Ridge keeps finding our buildings, almost as fast as you're putting them up." He handed Sjin a towel and moved to lean against the wall.

Sjin wiped the blood from his arm and stood up, "What can I do?"

"I'd like for you to take the helicopter out. Take a gun. See if you can find out how he's doing this," Xephos said.

"I'll get on it," Sjin said, pulling on his clothes and hurrying out, glad to be free of the lab for a while.

Xephos watched Sjin go and then made his way to the clone lab where Lalna was working. He was rubbing the back of his neck absently, staring at a screen full of numbers. His eyes were dark and his face was drawn from stress, "How's it coming?"

Lalna jumped slightly and let his hand drop, "No more shocks or shorts since I rewired it," he said, "I think it's installed properly. The port is positioned perfectly."

"Lets power it up then, or do you want to sleep first?" Xephos said, walking to the cold blood storage.

Lalna tossed his wrinkled white coat aside and pulled his shirt over his head, more fully revealing the mass on the back of his neck, "There's no time. It has to be now."

Xephos prepared the dose of blood, already a routine between them, "I'll count to three."

"Charming," Lalna mused, "If this works it's going to win us the war."

"You're going to win us the war," Xephos corrected, swabbing Lalna's neck with the disinfectant, "One."

Lalna released a tense breath, his heart racing in anticipation and the smallest hint of dread. Xephos' hand on his shoulder was an anchor, holding his wandering mind in a stern grip of stasis.

"Two."

Lalna squeezed his eyes closed and waited, his ears echoing with the tense, buzzing silence of the sterile room interrupted only by their breathing, his shallow and fast and Xephos' deep and slow, an afterthought, an unnecessary human habit.

Xephos bent the scientist over without warning and injected the entire vial's worth of blood into the port of Lalna's implant, "Three."

Lalna winced as the needle entered his neck, his eyes opening and seeing thousands of scenes at once. He was in the mines, singing along with one of Turps' work songs and covered in coal dust. He was standing in the fabrication hangar at SipsCo, dozens of clones high above him welding and riveting and shouting. He was laughing politely at one of Honeydew's saucy jokes in the lounge, the taste of stale coffee in his mouth. He was staring at himself and Xephos from his little glass prison, his hands throbbing from trying to beat his way free,

With a deep breath, and a little effort, Lalna pushed it all away and brought himself to the present, opening his own eyes, "Lalna?" Xephos said.

"Think you could've jammed it in harder?"

Xephos smiled, "I could, while I've got you like this," he responded, his voice edging on playful as Lalna became painfully aware of his position, still bent over with Xephos' hand on his back to hold him there, his cheeks flushing.

After a small struggle, Lalna managed to right himself and turn, meeting Xephos' hungry kiss without hesitation.

* * *

Xephos stood at the storage facility's large bay window looking out over the smoldering stretches of hate-salted earth that had been sloping, flowering beauty under Sjin's watch. Hands clasped behind his back, Xephos watched while his glowing eyes betrayed the ball of emotions in his chest that didn't quite reach his face, swallowed down like a lump of cold gruel. It was far too filling.

He felt the demigod before he spoke, but showed no reactions, "Here we are again, Xephos."

Blue light reflected back at him from the window's glass and made the mess outside seem more pleasant, "Here you are again."

"Not in your secret lab today?" Ridge mused.

Xephos bit his lip hard and blood flowed slowly like an afterthought into his mouth, "I'll find out how you're doing this," he said.

"Oh Xephos. I'm not a complicated man," Ridge said.

"You aren't a man at all," Xephos said, but his words were fairly soft.

Ridge stood beside him, his reflection golden beauty and calm beside the stormy blue of Xephos' frustration, "I came to continue our conversation," Ridge said smoothly, "It was cut short before."

Xephos closed his eyes, interrupting their glowing, "I'll pass on the conclusion to that if it's all the same to you. It's getting easier to put things into perspective for myself."

Ridge arched one perfect eyebrow, unused to being refused. He moved behind Xephos, his favorite spot when delivering his always important advice, "Using mortals for playthings is dangerous, but even worse is that moment where it all blinks away, all of the sensation, the longing, the affection. When mortals are no longer pets, no longer toys, just little insects going about tasks so insignificant that even squinting your eyes, you can't tell what on earth they're doing. That's when they become dangerous. Humans are like those pigmen through the portal. Ignore them for too long and the slip of a hand, a badly aimed arrow, they converge upon you in a cloud of squealing, grunting pain. They'll rip you apart and you won't even see it coming because they're too tiny for you to see at all."

"You are wasting your breath," Xephos said, "I'm done taking your advice. You've been playing a game ever since I laid eyes on you. I was stupid enough to think I mattered to you but I'm going to show you what I'm capable of, prove to you that I'm not just a toy."

Xephos expected smug amusement, but what came next surprised him, the justification, spoken matter-of-fact but a decidedly human reaction nonetheless, "You were never a toy."

_Shit._

It made Xephos suddenly very uncomfortable, and he crossed his arms, turning away. The smell of sulfur reached him and he wondered briefly if it was Honeydew's explosives or his own inevitable damnation tickling his nose.

"Nilesy was easy prey while you were still human enough to be fooled. But you're growing," Ridge said, "Tall trees need deep roots."

"I am no child," Xephos said.

"Not for long. You'd better check on Sips."

Silence stretched between them and a new pillar of smoke appeared on the horizon, close to Sips' factory, and Xephos turned away from the window, finding Ridge gone. There had been no taunting, no patronizing, no badly concealed cynicism. Ridge had warned him and confessed to the turning of Nilesy, due to Xephos' own incompetence.

Xephos roared in anger, clearing the entire contents of the room without lifting a finger. It had been a distraction, a ruse, keeping his mind off of Nilesy just long enough to take him and now he'd lost a spy, a clever spy. It would take weeks for Lalna to remake him, and there was the other matter.

Lalna, his pet, his mortal plaything, even as Xephos tried to deny it the truth stared him in the face. Even now his cheeks flushed as he thought about the way Lalna squirmed under his gaze, his body remembering previous hours of mindless ecstasy at his leader's hands.

Would it stop? Xephos actually snorted. Of course not. Men were men even when they weren't men, and blood, sex and food were the only things men cared about, from the start of time to its end. But Ridge had made his point, and Xephos would learn quickly, as he always had. The demigod wasn't to be trusted, and suddenly, without anyone but Xephos to notice the shift, the game became a war.

* * *

Sjin narrowed his eyes at the small glittering dot in the sky, hovering and then taking off like a rocket. Maneuvering the helicopter, Sjin gave chase, fumbling in his belt for the gun Xephos had given him. The figure was fast in the air and when Sjin got closer he saw the jet pack and the strange little creature wearing it. Aiming, he pulled the trigger and grunted at the small gun's kick when the weapon fired. The bullet sank home into the jetpack's fuel tank and the small explosion threw Trott off course and to the ground with only a surprised yelp before his body contacted the dirt.

It took Sjin a while to land safely. He was almost sure he would have lost Trott, but he found him where he'd fallen. He was on his back, his body twisted oddly and blood oozing from his nose and mouth. He stared at Sjin with frightened eyes but didn't seem to be able to move, "Seem to have... broke my... back, neck too maybe. Can..." he took a labored breath and Sjin realized he didn't know who had shot him, "Help me?"

"Sorry," Sjin said, lifting Trott over his shoulder like a barbarian with his stolen bride, "It's only a game," he said, wincing when Trott screamed in pain.

Sjin saw a flutter of paper and grabbed it out of the air. A small folded note had slipped from Trott's coat pocket.

Trott's cries faded when Sjin strapped him into the helicopter, but as soon as the craft lurched into the air he started up again, shouts and grunts and gasps as his screaming nerves lit up like synthesizers, each alerting him to a different part of his broken body's agony. Sjin thought he would go mad, but finally-mercifully-Trott fainted, his head lolling back.

Sjin took out the note and unfolded it. It was scorched and bloodied, but the handwriting was stark against the paper's white.

They're building again. Two more storage facilities and Turps moved his miners inland.

A thick choking sound prompted Sjin to roll Trott's head forward, the brunt of the weight resting on his broken tusks, and dark blood drooled from his mouth.

The flight in the dark was peaceful, punctuated by Trott's wet snoring as air passed around dried blood and through collapsed channels in and out of his lungs.

When he was within range, the open comm buzzed to life and Xephos' voice was warm and energized, a far cry from their earlier conversation, "Sjin, find anything?"

"I definitely found something," Sjin said, "I'm bringing it back to the lab."

"Do you have an ETA?"

Sjin's eyebrows furrowed, "About fifteen minutes I think. We're going to need some medical services."

"We'll be ready," Xephos said, and the comm line went silent for a moment.

"Hey anybody?"

Sjin was surprised to hear Sips so late at night, and surprised to hear the frightened tone in his voice, "Sips?"

There was silence, breathing, shuffling, "Uh... there's a hell of a lot of explosions out there. One of these clones just came in with a leg blown off and died on the rug. I think the factory's in deep shit."

Xephos interjected, and Sjin was relieved, "We can evacuate the clones but someone has to stay to oversee completion of the last three ships. It's automated except for the release that moves them into the harbor. Honeydew is already laying explosives underneath you. We'll let them take the factory and blow it up around them. Just make sure you're ready to get out when the ships go. Sjin get that cargo here and then be ready to pick up Sips on my word."

"Just get them out of here so I have room to work," Sips said, trying to hide the fear in his voice.

* * *

"Shit!" Sips yelled when the computer in front of him burst into sparks, the entire building rocking with another explosion. He moved to the next computer bay and picked up the work, typing in code as Xephos fed it to him via his headset, "You could have left me three or four clones you know."

"The clones aren't capable of everything you are," Xephos said.

"They can't shit their pants?" Sips muttered, slamming on the execute key to complete the second of the three ships, "Two down."

Xephos rubbed his forehead, Lalna at his side listening urgently, "If the computers are all down, the security box's computer out front should be able to handle the commands as well, just something to consider."

Sips sighed as he started anew on the third bay's coding, "Good to know," he said, "Actually I think I'm gonna be-"

Another explosion sounded, and all of the screens went black, "What was that?"

"Looks like I'm heading to the security box," Sips muttered.

"Hurry," Xephos said.

The hallway was completely dark, littered with plaster and wood from the ceiling and crumbling walls. Sips' shoes made loud, haunting echoes as he jogged to the end, "I think they took some of the power out."

"I did that," Lalna said, "I had the clones divert it all to the computers."

Xephos cut in, "Now be careful. They're all wizards and mages. You might not be alone."

Pain flared in Sips' back as something suddenly tore through his suit, "Fuck!" he cried in surprise, grabbing his handgun from its place in the waistband of his pants and turning to find his assailant.

"Sips?"

A single testificate stood there, a bow in his hand.

"Sips!"

Sips fired a single bullet into its head and reached behind himself, locating the arrow. He took a breath, gripping it and pulling it out with a shout, "Damn it! Son of a mother fucking-"

"Sips what the hell is your status!" Xephos barked.

"It'd be great," Sips said through clenched teeth, "If you could stop giving me shit hypotheticals that keep coming true. One of the bastards shot me."

Xephos kept quiet, listening to the faint tapping of keys as Sips worked.

"I'm outside the factory," Sjin said, "It's bad. Rythian is here."

"Calm down the last one is going now," Sips said into his headset, typing a few last lines into the security control panel and then ducking as explosions of light tore through the glass of the security box, showering him in shards.

"Get the hell out of there now, Sips," Xephos said, "Honeydew's going to blow the place. You've got one minute."

Sips tossed his headset aside, pulling the pistol out of the back of his suit pants again and firing a few shots to drive his attackers back, "Out of my ass mother fuckers," he muttered, running through the chaos and trying to keep his head low.

He could see the helicopter waiting for him, it's blades spinning tornadoes into the black smoke. It was thirty yards away, one hell of a run but he didn't exactly have time to saunter. As soon as his foot hit the doorway of the chopper, it lurched and leapt into the air with Sips hanging on, the tattered jacket of his suit flapping like a flag until he finally shrugged it off and climbed into the helicopter, buckling his seatbelt and taking the helmet he was given, "He's out," Sjin's voice crackled over the open com in the helmet, "Blast it, Honeydew."

Sips watched as his factory, the warehouses and machinery, all built for him by Sjin, shook, buckled and collapsed into massive cloud of dust and debris, "Damn."

"I'll rebuild it," Sjin said in Sips' ear, "I'll build it twice as big."

"Big money, big weapons, big fun," Sips said, "Where am I headed?"

"The labs for your debriefing."

"I hope debriefing isn't code for a needle in my brain," Sips muttered.

The conversation ended there as the mages that had survived turned their attacks to the helicopter, Rythian standing amongst them, and Sjin barely managed to get them out of the new war zone. When they finally landed on the lab's helipad, Sips wasn't exactly steady on his feet, "Good flight?" Xephos greeted him on the roof.

"I get airsick," Sips said, "In a helicopter driven by a drunken monkey, not to mention I've been shot with an arrow and half a dozen magical fucking lasers."

Xephos chuckled, "You'll need a new suit."

Sips rubbed the back of his neck and winced at the heavy arm Xephos threw across his shoulders, "So what's this debriefing I heard about?"

"All in good time," Xephos said.

As they approached the door, Sjin took off in his helicopter and Sips watched it dart away in the moonlight. It felt final, in a way, and he felt closed off as the lab's steel door swung shut behind them, "I wouldn't mind a shower," he ventured.

"We captured Trottimus," Xephos said.

Sips' eyebrows raised and he whistled, "Shit, so what are you gonna do with him?"

"Lalna is handling that for now," Xephos said, "But he had full intel of our factories, our substations, every outpost. He was meeting with someone here, on our side of the ocean."

"Fuck," Sips breathed, "Was it one of ours?"

Xephos paused as they turned a corner, ensuring they were alone, "Nilesy. We need to bring him in, let Lalna... reset him."

Sips had an odd feeling as he glanced around the massive room they'd walked into. In the center was a single chair beside a computer console and a rolling tray of various medical implements, "So..."

"If any of the rest of us goes after him, he'll spook. They'll have him across the sea and Ridge will have a turncoat to brag about. SipsCo doesn't need a brain until Sjin finishes it's body, so I'm sending you on a little vacation. Go to Nilesy's outpost and pick him up."

"What do I say?" Sips asked as Xephos guided him into the chair with a firm grip on his shoulders.

Xephos smiled, "You'll think of something," he said.

Sips tensed as Xephos fastened the chair's straps around his wrists and head, "So how am I going?"

"Sjin will be back to drop you at the car and you'll drive on to Nilesy alone," Xephos said, rubbing an alcohol swab over the back of Sips' neck.

"Car?"

Xephos had a smile in his voice as he worked out of Sips' line of sight, "That's right."

The gray man hissed at the bite of the thick needle, sliding through skin and muscle, "I knew this was gonna involve a needle in my brain."

"Just a tracker," Xephos said, patting his back, "Just in case."

"Right."

Xephos set the large syringe aside and typed something into the computer, "Stop by Lalna's lab and get checked out. Clean yourself up before you go. Level C."

Sips reached back to touch the injection site but thought better of it as Xephos released him from the chair. He stood, making his hasty retreat.

* * *

Level C was packed with clones, milling around for the most part quietly. Every once in a while one would pause, tilt it's head and then stride off in another direction as if it had just remembered something terribly important. Sips tried to ignore them as he found the showers. They were much more public than SipsCo and it felt more like housing for soldiers than a laboratory. The water was hot though, and there were reasonably clean looking towels, and that was all that mattered. The gray man peeled his clothes off, mindful of the wound in the middle of his back. Stepping under the water, he let out an audible sigh of relief as it washed away the sweat, grit and blood, easing the stinging of his cuts and burns. The pain was still there, however, especially in his back, and it finally drove him out of the shower.

Sparing his clothes one last glance, he wrapped the towel around his waist and left them on the floor, following the red line out of the showers and down to the restricted lab where Lalna waited.

The blond man was standing with his nose inches away from the computer screen, scratching absently at the hair on his chin. His goggles obscured his eyes, but his mouth was pulled up in a self satisfied smirk. As Sips approached, the clone in the glass box threw itself forward and pounded on the glass. Sips jumped away and winced when his back collided smartly with the counter, "He's harmless," Lalna said, "All bark and no bite. Lay down on your stomach. I'll take care of that wound."

Sips hesitated before climbing onto the metal table. The cold of it bit into his skin and he turned his head away from the angry clone. Lalna buzzed around gathering supplies before moving to Sips' side, far enough down that he had to crane his neck to see.

"Keep still," he barked, then remembered to plaster on a semi pleasant smile.

Sips scowled but did as he was told, staring at Lalna's cluttered countertop, "What do you do down here anyway, Goggles?"

"Everything," Lalna replied.

Sips hissed at a sharp pain in his lower back, then it-and all other sensation-slipped away like raindrops rolling down a window. He wanted to complain, to question, but his mouth didn't want to cooperate anymore than the rest of his numb body.

"I gave you a shot of sedative... it might have been a bit too much. Don't worry; it's only temporary."

Sips gave a growl of annoyance but fell silent as Lalna worked, patching him up-at least Sips hoped. It was a slow process, agonizingly so as Sips lay motionless, listening only to Lalna's breathing. Steady and deep although a few times it picked up into tiny, shaky little pants of excitement that sent chills through the gray man.

Feeling finally began to return and Sips flexed his fingers, curling them into a fist and then flat again. He prepared to speak when suddenly he felt Lalna's breath in his ear and the scientist's hand on the back of his neck, searching, mapping and then pressing. Electricity shot through Sips from the spot down his spine and he actually whimpered. His mind fogged and he bit into his tongue a little too hard, "Tell Nilesy," Lalna said into his ear, "That Xephos would very much enjoy a visit from him."

Then the hand was gone and Sips blacked out.

* * *

The night was finally quiet, the smell of burning had lessened and the stars were visible in the beautiful black sky. The welcome silence seemed to extend to all things, and even the usual muttering of cows and pigs stilled in the night. There was no chill in the air, and the entire night seemed to pause, swirling on the edge of something like a boat teetering on a waterfall. Despite this, it wasn't tension he felt, but a dull loneliness, melancholy and ennui mixed together in a poetic fog.

It was missing the gentle breeze through towering branches, the soft hooting of owls and the smell of sea air. All of that, and her, her smell, her soft singing, the way her magic reached out to his when she passed by close, and how sometimes-when he was lucky-her hand did the same. It was she who made his heart beat, his blood flow, the air fill his lungs, she alone who drew him to Ridge like a siren on sharp rocks. Was it different in the shorter games, all blood and clenched jaws and thoughtless violence? Or had he died a thousand times for her, as helpless at her hands as always, mesmerized by a look, his fate sealed by the simple parting of her lips, his undying devotion tossed in the winds of her voice?

When he closed his eyes, he saw hers. His heart begged to hear her voice saying his name, even when uttered in frustration it always chased delighted chills up his spine. His love for her was a flower's love of the sun, forever turning to keep its gaze. It was the ocean's love of the moon, ebbing and flowing to its glittering gravity.

Her patience was legend, her determination undeniable. Her spirit as maternal as Nature herself with a heart as cavernous and inviting as a thousand homes, always room to spare for any creature in need.

Then the sound came, the popping of loose stones beneath something heavy and the ghosting of lights. His heart raced and sank into dread. It wasn't magic or torchlight, but the cold mechanical eyes of a car, another of Sjin and Xephos' joint projects. Nilesy wished more than ever that Lomadia was with him. He sat in the chair across from the door, his hands digging into the simple fabric as he listened to the engine cut, the banging of a door and then the quick footsteps, up the gravel path. He forced himself to breathe when the knock came on the door.

Much more graceful than he felt, he rose and crossed to the door, opening it. He was surprised to see Sips, unsure why the gray man would be visiting-unless Nilesy's short role in the game was about to come to an end.

Sips tried to smile, his hands jammed in his pockets, "Uh... hi."

Nilesy returned the odd smile desperately,

_Please don't be here to kill me. Please please please._

"Hi Sips."

At the simple greeting, Sips winced, gripping his head with both hands and squeezing his eyes shut like a flaming poker had been rammed into his brain. Just as suddenly as it came upon him, the attack seemed to pass and the gray man straightened calmly, "Xephos would very much enjoy a visit from you," he said clearly.

Nilesy's eyes went wide and then blank, like a dead fish. All of it tore away like wet paper, Lomadia, Trott, the game, his life, his raw animal fear, pulled from within him. He stepped forward without semblance of balance and wobbled to the car, climbing in, a line of drool rolling down his chin. Sips touched the back of his neck where the lump sat below the skin, "Tracker my ass," he grumbled, returning to the car briskly.

* * *

Trott opened his eyes with a groan, unable to move, "Hello?" he called, his voice thick with sedatives.

He was on his stomach, and he could feel a faraway sensation of pulling somewhere around his shoulders, "Sjin really did a number on you," Lalna said cheerily, "Burned you to hell and then you severed your spine in the fall. Knocked your teeth around too."

"Lalna?" Trott said, "Why didn't you just let me die?"

"Where's the fun in that?" Lalna said, his sentence punctuated by a dark, wet sound, "This might be my only chance to look around and see how you work."

Lalna's voice was slurring, his mind weighed down by the implant; it was almost time for another dose of blood.

Trott winced and licked his lips nervously, feeling the cuts likely made by broken teeth, "You sound like you've had a few, mate, feeling alright?"

"Never better," Lalna muttered, "So how did you come to be working with Nilesy?"

"Don't know really," Trott said, "Just took my orders and followed them. How about you?"

Lalna was quiet for a moment, walking away from the bed and picking up a metal tray. A wicked looking syringe and two glass vials sat upon it and the fluids inside resembled blood. He disappeared from Trott's view again, "I love my job," he said simply.

Lalna combined the two vials, samples from Xephos and Rythian, and drew them into the syringe. He jammed it into Trott's back, causing him to gasp in surprise though there was no pain at first.

As the scientist looked on in amazement, the ruined skin of Trott's back began to knit together, and a shattered rib slid from his left lung and back to pace. Lalna flipped Trott over and quickly strapped him down. His eyes were glowing a blackened purple and he started screaming as his bones rearranged and reformed with a deafening chorus of snapping.

Trott's eyes slowly faded to normal, the dark glow shrinking until it blinked away. He lay panting, his body covered in sweat as he tried to keep his composure, "Well," he said, testing a tusk with the tip of his tongue, "At least now only one of us has to sound like a drunk tosser."

"You seem to be feeling better," Lalna said.

"Seems a waste doing all of... whatever the hell that was just to forget it when this is all over," Trott responded.

Lalna smiled a faraway smile, "It isn't ever going to be over," he said, "Not if I can help it."

"You're mental, aren't you?"

The scientist's smile darkened and he moved forward, pausing when the door opened behind them, "Is he awake?"

"Yes, Xephos," Lalna said, "Good as new."

"Really?" Xephos said, "How did you manage that?"

Lalna pushed his goggles up onto his head, pressing his fingertips against his eyes, "A little of you," he said, picking up a scalpel from the medical tray and toying with it, "I thought interrogation would go better if he could at least speak."

"You don't sound so well," Xephos said, frowning in concern, "Do you need to go and rest?"

"He needs to go and have his head shrunk," Trott muttered, "I could have saved Ridge the trouble of worrying. I'm more of a scientist than he'll ever be. Do you even know half of what he's up-"

Lalna very suddenly buried the scalpel into Trott's chest, pulled it back and stabbed him again before Xephos could reach him, "Lalna!" he cried in alarm, "We were supposed to-oh!"

Without warning the sensation hit Xephos and he went to his knees, filled up with something, something he'd never felt before. His blue eyes opened again, glowing like beacons as Trott's death energized him, making him stronger.

Lalna stepped forward, touching Xephos' shoulder and jumping back when a hot charge sparked between them. Xephos was up in an instant, slamming Lalna against the wall and covering his jaw and neck in kisses. Lalna let his head loll back against the white wall, his eyes squeezed shut as his mind erupted, like dying a thousand times. His bones burned like molten iron beneath his skin, sparking like exposed wiring.

Xephos' teeth closed on his collar bone like an electrified mousetrap and Lalna groaned. The demigod's hands were like lightning, tearing his labcoat open and then the shirt beneath, leaving deep scratches as Xephos lost himself to the power inside.

Their lips clashed together in a fury of teeth and tongues, snarling and muttering and moaning into one another. The energy now flowed full and fast between them, making every cell in Lalna's body feel like it was on fire. When Xephos bit, Lalna bit back, and when Xephos pushed him to the floor, his head bouncing off the tile and stars exploding behind his eyes, Lalna didn't waste a moment pulling him back into the urgent kisses, ignoring his lungs as they screamed for air.

* * *

A/N: Thanks again, readers! See you in chapter 5!


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